


What Hawkeye Saw

by Fireice217



Category: Hawkeye (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-09
Updated: 2015-04-09
Packaged: 2018-03-22 00:02:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3708009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireice217/pseuds/Fireice217
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint's perspective from Loki's arrival to his (forced) departure.<br/>Or<br/>The Avengers from Clint's point of view</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Loki

Clint Barton was not having a good day. He had just gotten back to base and was looking forward to sleeping for at least fifteen hours after debriefing. That was before Coulson stopped him and told him to be in the hangar in ten. Clint sighed, and nodded. He really needed a vacation. Constant missions were exhausting, but there was always another crisis. He always kept extra supplies in his SHEILD bunk, even though he rarely used it. He quickly packed his stuff, and checked the room again before leaving. Nothing had been moved since he’d left, which meant Natasha hadn’t been back either. He got to the hangar quickly, where Coulson was waiting next to a Quinjet. Coulson nodded at him before boarding.   
“Where exactly are we going?” Clint asked.   
“Project Pegasus. You’ve heard of the Tessaract?”  
“Didn’t Captain America take care of that during the war?”  
Coulson got a little starry-eyed when Clint mentioned his hero’s name. “Not quite. It, like him, was lost in the ocean until Howard Stark found it. SHIELD’s had it ever since. We’ve been trying to figure out how to harness its power. Fury asked you to keep an eye on it. Since we’ve brought in Selvig, we’re getting close to answers on how to control it. The director wanted some extra security.”   
Clint sighed. It was going to be another long-term assignment, probably just watching a bunch of scientists who were halfway between mad and genius. His last few missions had been much the same: watch, don’t do anything else. Although the name Selvig sounded familiar.  
“Wasn’t Selvig in New Mexico with Thor?”  
“The same.” Coulson replied  
Clint nodded thoughtfully. Maybe it would be a little bit more interesting. Or maybe it would just be the standard don’t move for the entire day just stand there and watch. He was half-convinced that they were trying to get him into the SHIELD version of Guinness World Records. Most time spent doing nothing and crouching. Most accurate. Most likely to be called Robin Hood. Okay, maybe not the last one. Maybe he could convince Coulson to get him some board games, so he could at least do something while he was bored. He’d been so close to beating Natasha at Risk the last time they played.   
“It’ll be a couple hours, you should catch your rest while you can.” Coulson said.   
Clint yawned and stretched out on the seats. When he woke up a few hours later, the sky was dark, and they were descending. Coulson was sitting in one of the seats across from him, reading an ancient-looking Captain America comic. Clint sat up and stretched, before checking his watch. They touched down quickly, and Coulson led the way to the elevator. The facility itself was massive, and the lab was deep underground. The elevator descended for a couple minutes before stopping. Clint and Coulson stepped out of the elevator. A balding, somewhat pot-bellied man glanced up briefly, before ignoring them and typing quickly on his computer. “Dr Selvig.” Coulson called. “This is Hawkeye.” Selvig nodded briefly before continuing his work. Clint shrugged, and scoped the place out. It had a high ceiling, with little lighting actually on the ceiling. The Tessaract was secured in a circular stand, and glowed light electric blue. Clint looked for a good vantage point. Perfect, there was a small catwalk at the back of the room. He’d need a rope so he could get down faster, but Coulson could get that. Coulson picked up Clint’s bag, and glanced at him. “I’ll need a rope. And a gun.” Coulson nodded again, and stepped into the elevator.   
Clint was bored. It’d been weeks, and nothing had really happened. Coulson had denied his requests of board games, cards, and pizza. How was he supposed to do nothing but watch mad scientists without pizza? The mad scientists were getting excited down on the floor. The cube was now sparking. Selvig and the other scientists rushed around. Coulson was down on the floor, barking orders into his radio. Clint checked again, but nothing should have disturbed the cube. He hadn’t seen anyone move in or out for the last hour. Selvig had been gone briefly and that’s when the cube started sparking. Coulson was giving an evacuation call for the facility. Four hours later, Fury walked into the room. Clint knew Hill was somewhere around as well. He spoke to Selvig briefly. Clint ignored him and hung over the railing until he heard his name over the comm. “Agent Barton, report.” Clint grabbed the rope and slid down. Fury was waiting for him. He and Fury walked around the bustling scientists. “I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things.”  
“Well, I see better from a distance.” It was true, and Fury knew it.   
Fury ignored Clint’s comment and continued. “Have you seen anything that might’ve set this thing off?”   
One of the scientists called out. “Doctor, it’s spiking again.”   
“No one’s been in or out. Selvig’s clean. No contacts, no I.M.’s. If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn’t at this end.”   
“At this end?” Fury looked slightly offended at this concept. He looked a bit like an angry toddler dressed as a pirate. Clint would have to remember that one to tell Natasha or Coulson later.   
“Yeah. The cube is a doorway to the other end of space, right? Doors open on both sides.” Jeez, just because he didn’t talk much to people didn’t mean he was dumb. Clint had done his homework in his spare time, reading the New Mexico files and how the cube had been discovered. The earth shuddered as the cube pulsed, small tendrils of electricity flying over its surface. Clint and Fury backed away quickly. The cube continued sending off flashes of electricity. The electricity swirled together. A sky-blue plasma beam shot out horizontally from the cube and stopped above the opposite platform, causing a swirling portal to appear. The brief seconds it was there, Clint spotted stars and inky darkness. The beam and portal vanished, and the blue energy traveled in waves across the floor, and up the walls before dissipating. Some of it remained in the dome, flickering like a storm cloud. A figure was now crouched where the portal had been, covered in the weird plasma. It was sparking, like a blue fire, smoke coming off of it. Clint readied himself. The SHIELD security guards moved forward. “Sir, please put down the spear.” Fury shouted. The figure stood up from its crouch slowly, holding the spear away from its body. The spear itself looked more like a medieval pike crossed with the elven swords from Lord of the Rings, with a glowing, smoking orb fixed between the top blades. The figure stood, looked at the slightly smoking spear, and lifted it, aiming it directly at Clint and Fury. Aw shit, Clint thought, before shoving Fury to the side and down. A bolt of blue energy flew overhead. The figure was wearing some sort of bulletproof armor. He stabbed one pair of guards, before turning around swiftly and flinging knives at the others. Superhuman strength and right handed. The attacker shot bolts of energy from his spear. Equipment went flying, sending off sparks. That’s at least one scientist down, Clint thought before he crouched, bringing his gun up and firing. The figure fired again, and Clint rolled out of the way. The blast threw him, and his gun fell from his hand. The lab was in ruins, the equipment sparking. Clint was near the yellow safety railing, near the stairs. Clint grabbed his gun and turned swiftly. The attacker appeared suddenly in front of him, blue eyes practically glowing. He smiled twistedly as he grabbed Clint’s wrist, twisting it painfully downward. “You have heart.” He said, before tapping the tip of his now-glowing spearhead to Clint’s chest. This is gonna be a bad day, Clint thought before his mind went blank.


	2. Mind Control and Other Fun Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint's mind is messed up more than usual.

Confusing images swirled through Clint’s head. All of it was foggy. He saw himself at a distance. Selvig and the figure and Fury were speaking. He was speaking now. Fury was falling down. _What the hell is happening?_ Clint saw himself put his gun back down and pick up the case with the cube. _Had he shot Fury? If he had, why would he shoot his chest, Fury always wore a bulletproof vest._ I know he’ll survive. Clint tried fighting against whatever was controlling him, but it wasn’t working. He was leading Loki and Selvig out now, to the garage. Hill was there. Clint was taking a truck. Hill was suspicious. He didn’t know who the figure was. Hill was walking away, radio in hand. It crackled to life, and Fury’s voice came over it. Clint was shooting at Hill, before jumping into the truck and driving away. The person controlling him was in the bed of the truck. The figure shot a bolt of energy at one of the pursuing vehicles and it crashed into the tunnel wall, before flipping over in front of the other cars. The facility was going to collapse or explode or something. Clint couldn’t tell. He felt like he was in one of those movies were the hero gets hypnotized or something and goes crazy. He couldn’t do anything about what he was doing. Except he was missing. His shots weren’t hitting Hill. Clint knew he could make those shots, he had a hundred times. But he wasn’t. _Maybe I can minimalize the damage._ Clint couldn’t control all of his actions, but he could have control over who got hurt. They were on the road now, and Fury’s helicopter was overhead. Clint went off-road, and tried to escape, not confront. Then the figure from the truck bed shot at the helicopter, and it went down. Fury’s coat flapped as he jumped out. His bullets were useless, they were too far away. Clint continued driving.

They were underground somewhere. The small amount of control Clint had was slipping away faster. Loki had kept him awake the entire time. The place they were in was brick, and old. It was musty and abandoned. Selvig was there, working on something. Whatever it was needed a lot of materials. The entire place was dark, except for Selvig’s workstation. Loki was meditating or something, as Clint ordered the troops around. Loki had somehow gotten hold of a lot of SHIELD’s enemies. Most were mercenaries or madmen. Clint hadn’t slept for at least a day. He kept trying to break free of Loki’s control, but it hadn’t worked yet. Whatever had happened to him kept him just free enough to make smart leadership decisions, but stopped him from doing what he wanted. Simply put, what Loki wanted, he wanted. _Shit, Selvig’s getting closer to completing whatever this is._ It was a large, metal thing that he’d been working on. He was talking to Selvig now. Something about SHIELD. And holding a tablet with some sort of element on it. Selvig looked vaguely annoyed at needing the object. Clint knew where it was. He tried to stop himself from saying it, but he told Loki how to get it. Selvig was going mad, saying the cube had shown him something. _Damn it. I wish I could just get out. That me that Loki’s controlling sounds like Loki. Fuck, we’re stealing something aren’t we? My bow! Yes. Wait no, no, put it down Agent Barton. Damn it._ They were going to a museum in Germany. Clint’s thoughts were going fuzzy again, and all control he had slipped. He couldn’t stop Loki at all.

Everything went foggy again. He was speaking to Loki. About, about something. A hospital? Drakov, what kinda name was that? It sounded like a Russian dragon. _Wait Russian. Shit. Natasha. No not Natasha, he can’t have sold out Natasha. No, not Brazil, he wasn’t speaking about Brazil. Loki was making him talk about Brazil. But he kept Budapest. He hadn’t mentioned Budapest, thank god. No wait, I’m not hurting Natasha, you can’t make me touch Natasha. I won’t hurt her._ He was shooting again. Breaking in somewhere. The target had been secured. He’d been awake at least two days. They were moving. He was driving again, Selvig in the back of the van. Then they were somewhere else. He couldn’t tell.

A Quinjet, they were in a Quinjet for some reason. He had his arrows and his bow. He couldn’t minimalize the causalities this time though. Loki was in complete control. He couldn’t even see what was happening anymore. There was wind and arrows and fighting. Gunshots. An explosion…no two or three. Orders, he was giving orders to someone. He was shooting again. _I’m not missing damn it, why aren’t I missing._ Despite the situation, Clint felt a little bit of pride in his sharpshooting. He was moving again. It was darker there, must be a lower level. _Someone else is there, behind him. Ow that’s gonna hurt. Who’s fighting me? They’re good. Oh, shit they are really good. They must know me, my bow’s gone. Everything was dark and fast. Wait, there was red. Natasha? Is it Natasha? Oh FUCK my arm. I think it’s Natasha. SHIT, my head._ _in_ There was a colossal noise, and suddenly Clint was in control of his body again _,_ and it hurt _holy shit damn it ow._ He was crouched against the railing on one of the lower level catwalks. He looked up. His vision was starting to speed away from him, Loki was getting him again. He had to get a word out. “Tasha?” Loki was getting control again, fuck. _Oh thank god,_ he thought as Natasha’s fist sped toward him. 

He was strapped down. Loki was still in his head, taunting him, controlling him. He shook his head vigorously. He blinked rapidly. Everything was Technicolor, weirdly bright. Nat’s voice still seemed far away. 

“Clint, you’re gonna be alright.” His muscles were bunched. He tried to shake, shove, force Loki out. 

“You know that? Is that what you know?” He chuckled weakly, gasping. He looked at the ceiling. Thank god, the colors were calming down. The bastard was still in there, he knew it. “I gotta go in though. I gotta flush him out.” 

“We don’t have that long, it’s gonna take time.” Clint leaned back, and breathed heavily. 

“I don’t understand. Have you ever had someone take your brain and play? Pull you out and send something else in? Do you know what it’s like to be unmade?” _Fuck, of course she does_. 

“You know that I do.” _Damnit I do know._ Clint calmed down, breathing slower. 

“Why am I back? How’d you get him out?” Natasha moved to sit on the cot. 

“Cognitive recalibration. I hit you really hard in the head.” _That explains the noise and why my head hurts so damn much._

“Thanks.” He said, and Nat leaned over and undoes the straps holding down his arms. He had to ask though, he needs to know. _I couldn’t stop him, but I have to know what I did._ “Tasha, how many agents?” She looked up sharply, cutting him off. 

“Don’t. Don’t do that to yourself Clint. This is Loki. This is monsters and magic and nothing we were ever trained for.” _What the hell did she see?_ Clint ignored this thought. 

“Loki, he got away?” And he’s mad; he was, because that bastard didn’t tell him anything. 

“Yeah. I don’t suppose you know where?” Clint is pissed, he tried, but 

“I didn’t need to know I didn’t ask. He’s gonna make his play soon though. Today.” He took a sip of the water, and realized how damn tired he was. Loki kept him awake for who knows how long, but it was at least two days. Nat had moved over by the window. 

“We gotta stop him.” 

“Yeah, who’s we?” And he couldn’t help but be sarcastic, because he didn’t think any of them were left and he couldn’t handle this any other way. 

“I don’t know. Whoever’s left.” And she sounded done. Finished with Loki. Like she wanted to bury him no matter what. 

“Well, if I put an arrow in Loki’s eye socket, I’d sleep better I suppose.” And at this point, he might as well, because he would feel better, and Nat’s gonna beat the shit out of Loki. Even if it’s just the two of them fighting, they would’ve beat him. Clint realized he’s painfully optimistic sometimes. 

“Now you sound like you.” Natasha said, and she sat down next to him again. And he heard it, saw it again. 

“But you don’t. You’re a spy, not a soldier. Now you want to wade into a war. Why? What did Loki do to you?” Clint looked at her eyes as she answered. 

“He didn’t, I just…” Her eyes were searching. She looked down and away. 

“Natasha.” He whispered, and he swore he’s going to hurt Loki the next time he sees him. 

“I’ve been compromised. I got red in my ledger. I’d like to wipe it out.” _Shit, I told Loki. I couldn’t stop it, but I did. And she knows I did._

“Tasha, I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop him, I tried.” 

“I know.” She sighed. “He knew everything. The fire, Drakov, Brazil. All of it.” She looked defeated right now. 

“No, not everything.” Clint spoke before he realized it. Nat looked up confused. “I didn’t tell him about Budapest. I couldn’t.” Nat looked like he just saved her a little. 

“He didn’t know about Budapest?” Clint shook his head, and Nat sighed, relaxing minutely. Clint stood up, and moved towards the bathroom. 

“I gotta-“ 

“Wash up. Yeah.” 

“And change” Clint stepped into the bathroom, and soaked the first small towel he saw. He wiped his face. He tried to get the grime and dirt off of his hands, but he knew it wouldn’t work. Clint just needed to get clean enough to feel human again. He shook his head carefully and checked his eyes. He looked like himself again, at least a little. He changed from his black tactical gear to his usual uniform. He washed his hands again, and heard voices from the room. He caught the end of a sentence spoken to Nat. 

“Can you fly one of those jets?” Clint twisted the towel in his hand as he stepped out. Steve- Captain America- he’s not sure what he was supposed to call him – was standing in the doorway. But he paused and looked at Clint carefully, as though assessing a threat. 

“I can.” Clint said. The Captain looked at Nat, who nodded. He stared back at Clint. 

“You got a suit?” Clint nodded and nearly whispered 

“Yeah.” 

“Then suit up.” The Captain’s gone just as fast as he came. Nat looked over at him. 

“You ready?” Clint grinned humorously. 

“Well, I just got mind-controlled by a god, so actually, yeah.” Nat shook her head a little. 

“We better not leave the Captain waiting then.” They went to the weapons locker, and Clint grabbed his regular quiver. He’s ridiculously giddy to have it back. It’s his favorite quiver. Nat had a tiny smirk on her face. _Thank god, at least this hasn’t been touched by Loki. This is the good one._ He followed Nat and the Captain to the hangar bay. They walked into the nearest Quinjet, the ramp already down. The pilot tried to stop them, something about authorization, but Steve just held up his hand and said “Son, just don’t.” Clint almost laughed, because there was a man in an almost skintight suit commandeering a Quinjet, and no one was gonna stop him. Clint strapped himself in the pilot’s seat and pulled on a headset. Nat sat in the copilot’s seat, and pulled up the comms. Stark managed to get a clear channel into the Quinjet. Some SHIELD agents attempted to tell them to stop, but they ignored them. 

“So, where are we going?” Steve looked surprised, before remembering he hadn’t told them. 

“New York.”


	3. The Battle of New York

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint gets his bow back and shoots at aliens.

They talk to Stark as they fly. Well, Steve talked and they listened as he and Stark formed plans. Plan A was simple and straightforward: Destroy the damned device Selvig made. Plan B gave Stark a chance to swap armor, as his current edition was damaged. Of course, this meant that Plan B also hinged on Stark not being taken over by Loki and his “glow stick of destiny” as Stark said. They had banked on Stark’s arc reactor preventing it. Stark raced ahead to his tower, while Clint and Nat did their best to keep up. They knew they’d reach the city at least ten minutes after Stark. Hopefully, that wouldn’t be too long. The Quinjet tore through the air. Clint spotted the beam of light before the other two. _Haha, take that super soldier._ He thought, before he refocused. “You guys see that?” Nat nodded and Steve looked pissed. Steve sighed. “Aliens?”

“More than likely.” Nat said.

Clint shrugged. Whatever Loki had planned meant general terribleness for them, so he didn’t really care what it was, as long as it wasn’t Loki and it wasn’t impossible to defeat.

Stark was talking over the comms. Apparently Plan A had failed, leaving them with Plan B. Loki and Stark were talking, although they could only hear Stark’s side of the conversation. Part of Loki’s speech got through. “…fighting you?” _Shit here it comes, all hell breaks loose._ PING! Metal on metal. Ping! Ping! The third ping sounds almost confused. Then Stark’s voice again. “Well, performance issues, you know? Happens to…”Clint tuned out the rest, because thank god, it didn’t work. Stark shouted for Jarvis, and there was a sharp crashing noise. “Did Loki just-“

“More than likely.” Nat says.

Stark was able to get a suit on before he hit the ground though, so that’s good. Really good. Except the next thing Clint heard wasn’t.

“And there’s one other person you pissed off! His name was Phil.” Stark said.

Clint’s mind raced. _Was? Shit my ears must be messing up again. I should get hearing aids_. But then he glanced over at Nat’s face, and it was impossible to read. _Motherfucker. No. That bastard Loki is gonna get smashed._ Clint tried to get the jet to go faster.

“Right. Army.” Stark said on the comms. And isn’t that goddamn perfect. A massive portal had opened up above Stark’s tower, at least five times larger than the one from New Mexico. Clint vaguely caught a blur of red on his right. _Oh good god, a god._ Thor reached the Tower a whole lot faster than them. They reached the city limits, and Nat called out on the comms. Some streets were already in ruins, cars flipped and burning.

“Stark, we’re on your three heading north east.”

“What did you stop for drive-thru? Swing up Park, I’m gonna lay them out for you.”

Stark really shouldn’t have mentioned food because Clint is starved. _Pizza. That’s all I want, pizza with Pizza. Nat would hit me for that if she could read my mind._ Clint’s mind was definitely more unfocused that day than usual on mission, but he had a valid and excellent excuse. Clint flew up Park, as Nat lowered the machine gun. Stark shot past swiftly. Apparently the aliens also needed to have flying chariots. Nat took care of most of the alien chariot things that tailed him. After Stark vanished again, they continued toward the Tower, pulling up to avoid hitting buildings. Nat continued firing at the aliens. Clint glanced out his window. _Oh that bastard._ Thor and Loki were fighting on the balcony.

“Nat.” Clint said.

“See them.” Nat was still on the gun.

Clint pulled around to face Loki and Thor, just as Thor got knocked down. Nat was still firing the machine gun. Loki looked up at them and suddenly, Clint felt very crowded. Loki lifted his spear, staff, whatever, and fired a bolt of energy. It hit the left wing, and blew the engine out. _Well, this is new._ The wing was on fire. Thor tackled Loki as they trailed downward. The Quinjet spun slowly over the skyscrapers, smoke half-obscuring the Clint’s vision. _Thank god that these guys don’t have the same egos as Stark. There’s no way we’d be able to get over them otherwise._ The Quinjet spun slowly as it went down. He tried to control the descent, but there wasn’t much he could do. It smacked the sides of a couple buildings. Clint pulled the jet up as it slammed into the street. Clint hit the button for the ramp to lower and tore off his headset and harness. He grabbed his quiver and bow, before he followed Natasha and the Captain out.

“We’ve got to get back up there.” The Captain said. The Tower was maybe a couple blocks away. The streets were chaos. Cars flipped, small fires everywhere, and those damned flying chariots were still going through the city. They headed toward the Tower again, when a massive bellow shook the city. _What the hell was that?_ Clint leaned back to get a better look at the portal. A gigantic worm-dragon thing flew out. It flew directly over them. Clint was too stunned to fire. Smaller aliens jumped off of it onto and into the surrounding buildings. _Holy damn fire. Mother of pizzas, that’s huge._ The creatures crouched on the buildings were firing down at random civilians.

“Stark, are you seeing this?” The Captain said.

“I’m seeing, still working on believing. Where’s Banner? Has he shown up yet?”

“Banner?” There’s an impressive amount of disbelief in his voice, considering he let Clint fly him all the way here. _I mean, I was possessed not even two hours ago._

“Just keep me posted. Jarvis find me a soft spot.”

Nat looked quickly at Clint. He shrugged, and jogged after the Captain. _I need a shorter name for him. Also, I can’t imagine him ever singing Edelweiss._ They reached a bridge over one of the side streets. Cars were flipped upside downs. For the most part people had enough sense to run away from the explosions.

“We’ve got civilians down there.” Clint said as the Captain ran up to join them behind an overturned cab. There was a strange noise coming down the street. The aliens on the chariots were wreaking havoc with their weapons from overhead. _Oh are you fucking kidding me. Why would you wear that ridiculous helmet??_ “Loki.”

Loki was on a chariot, firing down at the street. More civilians raced down the street. Clint moved behind a different cab.

“They’re fish in a barrel down there.” Cap said. Nat stood and shot a couple aliens, before crouching down. Some of the smaller aliens landed on cars near them, staff-guns pulled out. _Okay smaller yes. Less weighty no._ The cars are crushed underneath the aliens. Nat pulled out her guns and nodded at Cap.

“We got this. It’s good. Go.”

The Captain paused, and looked at Clint. “You think you can hold them off?”

“Captain.” Clint loaded one of his arrows. “It would be my genuine pleasure.”  

Clint loaded and fired, hitting one of the lead aliens. _I love this one._ Tiny darts shot out, hitting a few more aliens. Nat stood up to cover the Cap as he jumped off the bridge. _Strike Team Delta back again._ Clint felt good. He fired, covering Natasha’s back easily. They were fighting almost seamlessly, heading slowly down the street toward Stark’s tower.

“Bus.” Clint shouted.

“Go.” Nat ordered.

Clint ran over to the stranded bus, swinging his bow onto his shoulder. He pulled out the kids first, carefully setting them down. He pointed the first one to a hopefully safe place. The rest followed. After most of them were out, he ran over to the door and pulled it open, before turning around again. Nat was still covering him and the people. Clint moved back to her steadily, firing at the alien soldiers.

“Just like Budapest all over again!” Nat shouted over gunfire.

“You and I remember Budapest very differently.” Clint replied. _Okay, so maybe one of us did just recently become un-brainwashed and we are fighting together._ Clint glanced up as another alien chariot flew overhead. Clint and Nat continued fighting through the apparently endless alien soldiers. Nat was almost completely out of clips. Clint was resorting more and more to hand-to-hand. Okay, arrow-to-whatever flesh he saw, but it’s nearly the same. He knew Stark was trying to defeat the massive dragon-worm thing.

“Well, we got its attention. What the hell was step two?” Stark sounded somewhat concerned. Clint knocked over an alien with his bow and stabbed him with an arrow. Nat was grappling with one, which meant jumping on its back. One charged Clint and tackled him, grabbing his lower legs. Clint hit the ground hard, bow aimed at the sky. Nat was just in his field of vision. She had somehow grabbed one of the alien weapons, and was spinning it around and firing at the attackers. It looked eerily similar to Loki’s damned staff. Clint grabbed an arrow and stabbed it into the alien’s chest. More aliens had jumped down onto cars and were coming toward them. Clint did a baseball slide to avoid the fire and shot an alien behind him, before spinning around. Cap suddenly appeared again, smacking down the aliens surrounding them with his shield. There were still more coming, weapons raised. They stiffened and let out guttural yells as they were electrocuted from behind. Thor landed heavily by a car. He was grimacing.

“What’s the story upstairs?” Cap questioned. Clint moved toward the downed aliens to retrieve his arrows.

“The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable.” _Oh my god. He sounds like he’s reciting Shakespeare. We should get him to do Shakespeare._

“Thor’s right, we gotta deal with these guys.” Stark’s voice came in over the comms.

“How do we do this?” Nat asked. Clint double-checked his arrows before putting them in his quiver.

“I have unfinished business with Loki.”

Well, Clint couldn’t let that go. “Yeah? Well get in line.” He tightened up the arrowhead in his hand.

“Save it. Loki’s gonna keep this fight focused on us. That’s what we need. Without him these things could run wild. ” Cap interrupted. _Great, so this was them running calmly apparently._

“We’ve got Stark up top. He’s gonna need us...” Cap trailed off. _Who the hell is riding a motorcycle towards us right now? Who does that? Oh it’s Banner._ Clint stuck another arrow back in his quiver and walked toward Banner with the rest of them. _That is an old motorcycle._ Banner was wearing clothes that more than likely not his.

“So,” he said, vaguely gesturing, “This all seems horrible.”

“I’ve seen worse.” Nat said evenly, eyes flickering over Banner. _Oh. That’s what happened. She met the Hulk._

“Sorry.” Banner sounded like he’s said this too often.

“No. We could use a little worse.” Natasha was smirking, but you couldn’t really tell.

“Stark. We got him.” Cap spoke into the comm.

“Banner?”

“Just like you said.”

“Then tell him to suit up. I’m bringing the party to you.”

Stark flew around the corner of a building. The dragon-worm followed, bellowing. Thor growled, shifting his grip on his hammer. Cap turned around and Natasha looked unimpressed.

“I don’t see how that’s party.” Nat deadpanned. _HA! No sense of humor my ass. Those idiot agents were just so scared they couldn’t tell when she was joking._ Stark was maybe thirty feet ahead of the thing, barreling down the street toward them. It was low enough to scrape the ground. Well, Clint hoped it mostly ground and nothing valuable, since it was crushing everything in its path. Banner turned and started walking toward the beast.

“Dr. Banner. Now might be a really good time for you to get angry.”

“That’s my secret Captain. I’m always angry.” Banner turned back toward the oncoming monster and stretched. It was weird to see the rather unassuming doctor suddenly grow into a green giant. The Hulk punched the monster in the nose. Well, maybe its nose. It was hard to tell. It ground to a halt, the back half of it flipping up and over them. _No way. It’s wearing armor._ Its armor clanked together and fell apart as it arced above them, revealing slimy pale bluish-purple flesh. Stark pulled up above them.

“Hold on.” He fired a small stream of missiles at the exposed flesh. Cap moved to cover Natasha and himself as Clint ducked to the side. Thor…Thor didn’t move, over than to cover his eyes from the fiery blast. Clint pressed himself against a car, hoping that it would cover him enough. The beast tumbled partially off the bridge into the other street. The aliens that hung on the buildings roared. The Hulk roared back as Stark touched down. Clint moved next to Thor, nocking an arrow. He heard the telltale click of Nat changing her magazines. He slowly turned around to face the same direction as Cap and Nat, lowering his bow. The alien’s cries echoed off the buildings. Clint was watching the portal. Two more giant beasts came through. _I need a name for them too. Leviathan sounds good._

“Guys.” Nat said.

Stark, Cap and the Hulk turned.

“Call it Captain.” Stark’s voice sounded tinny through the Iron Man suit.

“Alright, listen up. Until we can close that portal, our priority is containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark you’ve got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash.”

“Wanna give me a lift?” Clint looked at Stark. Clint was not going to climb the skyscraper Cap had pointed to. No way.

“Right. Better clench up Legolas.” Stark walked up behind him, and grabbed the strap of his quiver. Stark dropped him on the roof, making sure he had plenty of room to land before blasting off. Clint moved to the corner of the building, keeping Stark Tower in his sight. The Hulk jumped onto the building below him, crushing aliens, before jumping away. Black clouds swirled above the spire Thor stood on. The lightning crackled as it hit the portal entrance, killing two leviathans and downing alien chariots. Clint stood, foot braced on the low wall, and fired down at the flying aliens. He hit as many as he could. Most of the chariots had two parts, the front with a driver pulling a small cart with soldiers. There were still hundreds in the sky. Stark was flying around the buildings quickly, but there were aliens trailing behind him.

“Stark, got a lot of strays sniffing your tail.” Clint stood and fired.

“Just trying to, keep them off the streets.” _No wonder Fury doesn’t like him. Man, he’s snarky. Ha, snarky Starky._

“Well they can’t bank worth a damn.” Clint smiled slightly and fired one of his explosive arrows behind him. “Find a tight corner.”

“I will Roger that.” _Holy shit, maybe that’s why they say Roger to signal the end of comms’ messages. Steve Rogers._ Clint released one of his heat arrows. It hit the link between one of the chariots, dissolving it in a fiery mess behind Stark. Stark flew into a parking garage, and Clint turned his attention to Thor. He was close to Cap, fighting a squad of soldiers.

“Nice call. What else you got?” Stark asked.

“Well, Thor’s taking on a squadron on sixth.”

“And he didn’t invite me.” Clint was tempted to laugh. A couple more leviathans had escaped the portal, although the Hulk was raging on top of one. He could make out Tasha and Cap on the ground. They were wearing down. Clint continued fighting the onslaught of aliens. There was a rather erratic chariot that flew near Stark. Stark ducked down to help Cap, before he streaked up the side of the building past Clint. An alien had climbed up nearly to the top. Clint shot it quickly and ducked a chariot from overhead. Thor had gotten on top of a leviathan with the Hulk. Down below, a couple SUVs had arrived, firing their guns up at the aliens. _Shit._ A squad of aliens had split off and was heading inside a bank. Cap was the nearest one to it. Nat had vanished.

“Captain, the bank on 42nd past Madison. They’ve caught a lot of civilians in there.” Clint watched just long enough to see a blue and red flash enter the building. _God there’s so many. We can’t beat them all. That stupid portal needs to be shut off._

“Hawkeye.” Nat’s voiced broke over the comms.Clint looked down at the erratic chariot and caught a flash of red.

“Nat, what are you doing?” _I’m the one who usually does dumb stuff._

“Uh, a little help.” Clint almost rolled his eyes. A little help. Loki, with his smug smirk and stupid helmet was in the chariot following her. Clint loaded one of his explosive arrows. _Well, I did say I wanted to put an arrow in Loki’s eye._ He drew back, and tracked the movement.

“I got him.” He smirked as he released. He watched the arrow fly straight toward Loki’s face. _Oh, that bastard. Still._ Loki had caught it, and looked back at Clint smugly. Clint smiled as he hit the button. Loki’s chariot blew up, smashing into the letters on Stark’s Tower. Loki landed on an upper balcony. Nat dropped from her chariot and landed on the roof. The Hulk launched himself at Loki. They flew back into the Tower.

            A leviathan crashed through a building, bowling over Thor. Stark had taken care of it. An alien soldier landed on the roof behind him. Clint spun and fired. Another alien leapt up. Clint reached for another arrow. _Damn, I swore I had more._ The alien leaped toward him. Clint grabbed his bow, and swung it, smacking the creature across the face a couple times. It flailed, and Clint kicked it off the building. He looked up, hearing a swarm of chariots. At least fifteen were headed straight toward him. He snatched the arrow from the dead alien’s body and shoved it in his quiver. He equipped it as the aliens started firing on the roof. He jumped and twisted in midair, nocking the arrow. He fired as he fell, hitting a spot twenty feet down from the roof. The line snapped taunt and Clint swung through the window, landing on his back after rolling through the glass. The wind was knocked out of him. He gasped for breath.

“I can close it! Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!” _Oh thank god._

“Do it!” Cap replied immediately.

“No, wait.” Stark sounded strained.

“Stark, these things are still coming.”

“I got a nuke coming in, it’s gonna blow in less than a minute.” There was a long pause. “And I know just were to put it.”

“Stark. You know that’s a one-way trip.” Stark didn’t reply. Clint moved to the window as fast as possible. He could barely see the portal. Stark shot into view, guiding the large missile up. He vanished into the dark space. The alien soldiers started to fall suddenly. _This is some Star Wars shit right here._ Stark hadn’t returned yet. Clint held his breathe.

“Come on Stark…” Nat muttered over the comms. The portal grew brighter, lit from within.

“Close it.” Steve’s voice was heavy. The blue beam of energy cut off, and the portal shrank. Just before it vanished, Stark fell through. Clint sighed in relief.

“Son of a gun.” Cap sounded relieved. But then Clint realized something. _Fuck his suit’s down. He has no boosters left._

“He’s not slowing down.” Thor’s voice made it over Cap’s comm. Stark was out of his line of sight; Clint couldn’t tell what was happening. There was silence over the comms. Hulk’s roar broke out briefly. Then again. It sounded painful, or sad. _Is he happy? What’s going on?_

“He’s alive.” Cap spoke. Clint leaned on his bow. _He’s an arrogant asshole, but he’s good. I don’t think we could lose another good man today._ Then Clint remembered Coulson. He fell to the ground heavily. _Oh fuck, Coulson._ He was the first one after Clint to catch onto Nat’s humor. He saved Clint after the circus. He let Clint bring in Nat. He went up against Fury to protect Nat from all the stuff they were gonna do. He loved Captain America way too much. _Oh god, he’s gone._ Clint stumbled to the broken window and heaved.

“Does anyone know where Loki is?” Cap’s voice cut through his thoughts. Clint swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

“Last I saw, Hulk had smashed him through Tony’s living room.” Clint answered.

“Why’s it always my stuff that gets broken?” Stark whined.

“Because you can afford it.” Nat deadpanned.

“We need to get up there.” Cap said, cutting short Stark’s comeback.

Cap ordered them around, and they did it. Thor picked up Clint and flew him to the balcony. Nat was already waiting. The Hulk picked up Cap and carried him up, while Stark got his barely-functioning suit up. The faceplate of Stark’s suit was torn off, and it was pockmarked and charred. Cap’s helmet-hood thing was gone as well, and his face was covered in sweat and soot. Nat had some dried blood on her forehead, but looked the same as always- scary as hell. She was holding Loki’s staff. She kept it turned down and away from Clint, nodding quietly at him. Thor still looked godly. Clint scrounged an arrow from a dead alien and marched into Stark’s former living room. Loki was lying on the floor, holding his stomach. Clint crouched down, aiming at his face. Cap and Thor stood behind him. Loki moaned and rolled over, pushing himself up. Clint twitched, almost releasing. Loki looked up, then quickly averted his eyes. He had a large cut across the bridge of his nose. _I need to thank the Hulk after this._ “If it’s all the same to you,” Loki paused and took a glance up, “I’ll take that drink now.” The Hulk growled. Cap and Thor stepped forward and lifted Loki between them. Nat kept her eyes, and his staff, trained on him.

“Well. I’ll go see what I can make to keep this little devil quiet and contained.” Stark said, “Jarvis, to the labs.” Stark stepped into the elevator. Clint sat down on the steps. The Hulk sat next to him, shaking the floor. Cap and Thor took Loki over to the nearest couch and surrounded him.

“Good work out there.” Clint said. The Hulk grunted. “So, any chance you know when Banner’s coming back?” The Hulk looked down at Clint and grunted again. They stayed like that for a while, until Stark burst in. He’d changed from his armor into a semi-clean shirt and pants.

“I’ve got it.” He held up a chain with manacles attached. Cap and Thor looked at each other and nodded. Each on grabbed one of Loki’s arms, holding them out. Nat stood behind them, scepter still on Loki. Tony stepped forward carefully. He clasped a manacle on each arm and stepped back again. The Hulk got up.

 **“MOUTH.”** He grunted. Stark looked up.

“Oh, right. Yeah, don’t worry big guy, I’ve got that too. I’ll be right back.” Stark rushed to the elevator. He was back within a minute, holding a silver thing. Stark stepped behind Loki and fit it over his mouth. Stark secured and locked the clasp, making sure it was tight. Thor and Cap picked up Loki and put him on the floor. Thor put his hammer on top of Loki.

“Is that really gonna hold him?” Cap said dubiously.

“He cannot lift it.” Loki glared at Thor before futilely pulling the handle. It didn’t budge. Cap still looked unsure.

“Selvig.” Nat said suddenly. “He’s on the roof.”

“Eric?” Thor said. Nat nodded mutely. “We must retrieve him.”

“I’ll go.” Clint said quickly. He wanted out of this room and fast.

“I’ll take you up.” Stark said. Thor nodded and followed Stark as well. They stepped into the elevator. “Roof Jarvis.” They stepped out onto the roof. Clint still had his bow out, arrow nocked. Stark noticed but didn’t say anything. Selvig was sitting near the edge of the roof, staring at the device.

“Eric!” Thor said, stepping forward. Selvig started.

“Thor? But you left. You’ve been gone a while.”

“Yes, but I have returned.” Thor’s face fell, “I had to retrieve my brother for his wrongdoings.” _Seriously, we should put on a Shakespearean drama version of this. We would just need Thor to write all the dialogue._

Selvig looked lost. Clint stepped forward and stared carefully at his eyes. They were greyish-blue again, no trace of the electric blue they were under Loki’s control. Clint kept his bow up.

“Dr. Selvig. Do you remember me?” Selvig stared at him for a second.

“Hawkeye? What’re you doing here?” Clint sighed in relief and lowered his bow.

“Dr. Selvig, we’re going to explain and help you. But first, let’s get off this roof.” Thor helped Selvig up and escorted him over to the elevator. Stark was being surprisingly tactful and silent.

“Skip going into the same room as Loki. You got guest rooms?” Clint muttered to Stark. Stark smirked.

“Course I do. And not a problem.” They dropped Selvig off in the guest room, and left JARVIS with instructions to let him sleep after forcing some sleeping pills in him. When they got back upstairs, the Hulk was sitting in the same spot. They had moved Loki so he was less in the way, although Nat was standing firmly above him, glaring.

“ **MAN SAFE?”** The Hulk boomed out suddenly.

“Yeah big guy.” Stark said. The Hulk nodded and began to shrink. “Whoa.” Cap moved over and grabbed him as he shrank. Stark jogged to the elevator. He ran back in a minute later holding pair of black pants and a black shirt. Banner was back completely and groggy.

“Here you go.” Stark handed him the clothes. Thor and Cap had tactically moved in front of the windows. Bruce nodded his thanks and buttoned up the shirt. He rolled the sleeves up immediately. “Bathroom’s over there.” Stark pointed down the hallway. “There’s also a belt in there if you need it.” Banner looked surprised. He ambled down the hallway to change, holding his ruined pants up with one hand. Nat had shifted slightly. Clint moved to stand next to her.

“How are you?” she muttered.

Clint looked up at the ceiling. _How am I? Exhausted, hungry, sad, angry, about to punch Loki in the face…_

“I’m doing well. Hungry as hell though.”

“Good!” Stark spoke up, “Time for schwarma.” Cap laughed. Banner walked back into the room. “Schwarma time! You ready Bruce?” Banner looked startled.

“Um, yes?”

“Great! To the elevator!”

Thor was excited as Stark and practically bounded to the elevator. Banner followed at a slower pace. Nat and Cap and Clint exchanged incredulous looks.

“Come on guys! I’m paying.” Stark said. Clint shrugged and followed, Nat trailing behind him. They ended up checking on Selvig again (he was sound asleep) and securing Loki’s scepter in Stark’s lab (temporarily, Cap said). Nat followed Stark in one of his cars. They got to the somewhat busted up but in fairly good condition schwarma shop and ordered all the food they could. They were surprisingly quiet after that. Thor dug in immediately. Cap sat in his chair, leaning on his fist. Every few minutes he would bob alarmingly and blink a lot. Bruce ate slowly, hunched toward the table. Stark didn’t speak once they ordered, except to tell them to bill it to Stark Industries. Clint sat down and propped his foot on Nat’s chair. She moved so there was room and leaned forward slightly bracing herself with her arm. He leaned back in his chair. Clint’s day was going a lot better.


End file.
